Mika and her party cut through the 60-floor dungeon, taking the shortest route upward.

A dungeon of this size could take days to traverse if one got lost, but Dada and the others were A-rank adventurers—they kept up with the monsters without issue and remembered the path well.

But more than that, Mika and Takayuki walked at an astonishing speed.

From behind, Dada and the others panted as they gave directions: “Turn right there—ah, watch your step!” Though Mika remained cautious, she climbed without much trouble.

After ascending exactly ten floors, Gatt stopped everyone.

“Let’s rest in this floor’s safe zone. Fatigue leads to mistakes when you least expect it.”

Hearing this, Zurah let out a long exhale and explained,
“Occasionally, there are places in dungeons where monsters won’t approach. Those are safe zones. On this floor, the area around the staircase leading downward is the safe zone.”

“So that means not every floor has a safe zone near the stairs?”
“Right. The safe zone differs on each floor, so adventurers diving into dungeons always check the map before entering.”

The group sat around the hole connecting to the lower floors and rested. Gatt set down his pack, pulled out a cup from it, and handed it to Mika.

“It’s just water, but please, have some if you’d like.”

The cup, which had been empty moments ago, was now nearly overflowing with water. It seemed to be conjured by magic.

“Is… is this safe to drink?”
“Perfectly safe. Water magic draws moisture from the surroundings, so it’s close to pure water. Not particularly tasty, but not bad either.”

Mika hesitantly took a sip—it was cool and far more delicious than she expected.

After she finished, Gatt produced more water, and the rest of the group took turns drinking from the same cup.

“Food is generally fine to eat too. Though, sometimes, certain things can cause allergic reactions in people. Might be best to bring your own from now on, just in case.”
“Allergic reactions?”
“For example, the mushrooms we love can make other races laugh uncontrollably,” Zurah said with a chuckle. Probably a chuckle.

As they talked, Mika began to notice the subtle shifts in expression on Zurah and Gatt. Even the way Zurah’s tongue flicked in and out of his slightly gaping mouth made her think, Huh… maybe they’re kinda cute.

After a short break and wiping away sweat, they resumed walking. This floor had not only the staircase leading up but also a teleportation circle connecting to the 40th floor, ten levels above.

Teleportation circles functioned similarly to the key Mika carried. While her key could link doors scattered across different locations, dungeon teleportation circles only connected two fixed points. Their destinations were limited, but anyone could use them.

“Were teleportation circles like these developed by the people of this world?”
“No, all teleportation-type magical artifacts are relics of a lost civilization,” Dada explained casually as he walked ahead.

“Before the current races of this world emerged, there was an ancient civilization said to have perished. Of course, we only assume this based on ruins—no survivors of that lost civilization remain. It seems magic was highly advanced back then, as ruins across the land contain many magical artifacts. Some have been studied and are now commonly used. The cup you drank from earlier is one of them.

However, many artifacts still cannot be replicated, and their uses remain unknown. We’ve figured out how to use teleportation circles, but modern technology can’t reproduce them yet.”

Listening to this explanation while keeping a brisk pace, they soon arrived at the teleportation circle on the 50th floor.

The circle was housed in a square chamber carved into the cave wall.

“This room can’t be entered from above when someone is descending. Conversely, when going up from here, the upper room becomes inaccessible.”

It seemed the system couldn’t handle two-way travel at once. Inside, a switch lay at the center of the floor. The ceiling stretched high enough that the top wasn’t visible.

Wait… is this…?

Once everyone was inside, Dada stepped on the switch with his foot.

The floor glowed, and with a strange, weightless sensation, the entire platform shot upward at incredible speed—still illuminated.

“Eek!”

Mika let out a rare cry of surprise.

“Ah! That startled me. So this is more of an elevator than teleportation?”
“Indeed it is! Wahahaha! Even the great Mika-san was surprised!”
“Yes… I was.”

The otherworldly teleportation circle turned out to be an elevator. But the speed—covering ten floors in mere seconds—paired with the soft, floating sensation that barely made the velocity noticeable, reminded Mika that this was still the work of unknown technology… or magic.